Ethics of Human Cloning

The three main characters in Never Let Me Go are clones, created from the genetic material of unknown humans and raised for the express purpose of providing organs for transplant to non-clone humans. In the fictitious world of the novel, severe diseases have been all but eliminated because of this cloning.

Ishiguro does not attempt to explain how such a program might have come to be established or who exactly is in charge of it. In practice, the clones are raised fully aware they will one day be expected to sacrifice their lives by donating their organs. They all seem to accept this, even the main characters, who only hope to delay the donations and do not expect to be released entirely from their destinies.

Only in the final chapters are the ethical questions of such a program raised, and then only in the context...